Hong Kong stocks suffered another hammering in the opening minutes of trade on Friday after Wall Street was routed for the second time this week on worries about rising US interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index dived 3.13 percent, or 952.70 points, to 29,498.57 in early trade.

And the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.73 percent, or 89.20 points, to 3,172.85, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, fell 2.42 percent, or 42.06 points, to 1,692.51 – AFP/APP